Technical error or human error? This is the question three days after the S-Bahn accident near Schäftlarn. Two trains carrying 95 people collided head-on on a single-track route on Monday afternoon during rush hour. One passenger was killed and 18 people were injured, six of them seriously. The police and public prosecutor’s office will provide information on the status of the investigation this Thursday. The head of the traffic police, Steffen Küpper, and chief public prosecutor Anne Leiding will take part in the press conference at 11.30 a.m. and answer questions.
The investigations by the police and the Federal Railway Authority on the spot have been completed for the time being, and the recovery of the collided trains began on Thursday morning – despite the violent gusts of storm Ylenia. Debris was still lying next to the tracks on Wednesday, including torn-out S-Bahn doors, seat upholstery, parts of the side panels and electronics.
The wrecked vehicles are now being recovered with the help of cranes. According to a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn, the truck-mounted crane was brought around eight in the morning, and it has been positioned on the B 11 since around ten a.m. at the point where the rails run on the embankment above the road and the two trains are wedged together.
The crane has been on the street since eight in the morning – and is supposed to lift vehicle parts from the dam.
(Photo: Hartmut Pöstges)
Most of the surrounding trees and bushes have already been cut off, and helpers are just finding out where the crane’s chains should be placed on or around the debris and the trains to minimize the dangers. Then the wedged train parts are to be pulled apart with the crane – the complicated work will probably take several days.
There are reports of numerous onlookers at the barriers. The police have closed the site and in particular the section of road including the road that leads from the Schäftlarn monastery to the B 11 and is trying to keep curious people away. Because the salvage could be accompanied by the danger of flying debris.